Sensitivity Analysis of Simulation Parameters to Evaluate the Coarse-Grain DEM for Liner Wear Prediction

The coarse-grain discrete element method (DEM) has emerged as an effective approach for investigating large-scale granular flow systems. This study performs a sensitivity analysis to evaluate whether parameter calibration in DEM simulations can adequately predict liner wear patterns in tumbling mills. The findings emphasize the critical importance of selecting appropriate sliding friction coefficients fs (optimized as 0.10 in this investigation) for accurate quantitative prediction of total liner wear rates. In contrast, the restitution coefficient e demonstrated negligible influence within the current modeling framework. However, several discrepancies were noted: the model systematically underestimated peak transient wear rates while overestimating wear rates in inter-lifter regions of the mill liners. These discrepancies primarily stem from variations in sliding intensity induced by the coarse-grain methodology.